Meet the Night Wolves – Putin's Hell's Angels

The fiercely patriotic motorcycle gang are a key source of Russian soft power
in former Soviet States

Alexander Zaldostanov (C), nicknamed "the Surgeon", leader of a group of Russian bikers called the Night Wolves, attends a rally of pro-Russian activists waving the Russian flag, in front of the local parliament building in Simferopol, Crimea

The Night Wolves are Russia’s largest motorbike club, with over 5,000 members.

Fiercely patriotic, they believe that “wherever the Night Wolves are, that should be considered Russia”.

On Saturday, the Night Wolves organised a mass ride from the northeast of Ukraine through the Russian speaking eastern regions to the Crimea.

They wanted to hand out supplies to pro-Russian militia forces there.

A member of the club's local chapter said: “We don’t want what happened in Kiev to happen here. Nazis and bandits have seized power there. And if we have to fight, we’ll fight with everything we can get our hands on.”